Wilderness lodge review aug 2019

[IBEX23]

Originally Posted by BevS97

They certainly weren’t available later in the day but If you get there early I think you’d be ok.

Loads of loungers but not all in the shade. Although more shade than the big pool.

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Great to know Bev, thank you! I’d be happy with a shady lounger but those cabanas look fab

[IBEX23]

Originally Posted by lexie32

View was requested via touring plans and well worth asking for!

The quiet pool was much nicer, not exactly quiet but all the very young children seemed to be at the main pool. We never had problems getting a lounger no matter what time of day but we weren’t bothered about shade as were mainly in the pool when there as it was so hot. We could have easily got a cabana on the days we went before 10am and there were a couple free on some afternoons I noticed- I guess I’d depends on how many dvc’ers are spending a staycation there!

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Thank you that’s fab information. I think as I’m there over thanksgiving week that will mostly be a cabana write off though maybe I might get lucky the following week. I’m happy to share if I’m there first though

[Guest]

Originally Posted by lexie32

I wouldn’t worry about the transport too much, I guess we have been split by staying at the Y&B club for our last few visits and my husband does not do busses! We used UberXL and the most expensive one was $9 which when you are using 1per day is nothing when the holiday costs 10K

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We don’t do Uber and I really don’t want to spend money every day on taxis, so the comments on transport are very concerning.

[Bestbubba]

Originally Posted by Claudette

We don’t do Uber and I really don’t want to spend money every day on taxis, so the comments on transport are very concerning.

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Claudette do you have any specific reason for not using Uber? I only ask because we had never used them until a Disney holiday a couple of years ago. We're now Uber converts! Downloaded the app and it was really easy. We've met some lovely drivers, a lot of lady drivers in Orlando, apparently it fits in with the school run! We also met a charming young man in New Orleans who was overjoyed to learn we were Tottenham Hotspur supporters and knew more than we did about them!

[WDWfangirl]

We were there almost exactly the same time as you (arrived a day earlier and left a day earlier) and were just done the corridor from you - 6066. This wasn't requested via touring plans but as we booked with ATD I did email them to put in a fireworks view request and obviously it did the trick as we also had a great view of the fireworks. Although unlike you we didn't have any towel creations : (

We had one day where we waited about 20 mins, possibly more for a bus which was a little annoying. I forget where we were going but there was a massive queue by the time the bus did arrived. And we had one evening where we must have just missed the bus leaving Epcot. Apart from that I don't think I could complain about the buses at all. This was our first time at Disney not having a car and we really didn't miss it. I found the bus times feature on MDE really useful and generally very accurate. However as we were relying on the free wifi it didn't extend to the bus stop area but then once there you had the screens so it didn't really make any difference.

I think we used Uber three times - once to get to the fantasia mini golf when it opened in the morning and once each to get home from the Poly and the Boardwalk when we were too tired. Each time I think the Uber was about $10 so definitely worthwhile doing. By knowing which resorts were near which parks we navigated our way without any problems around the World. For example we caught the bus to Saratoga Springs from Blizzard Beach when we wanted to go to Disney Springs as we knew we could walk between the two. Despite the driver trying to put us off with the "long walk" speech it took us and two small children no more than about 12 minutes.

We also loved catching the boat and would catch the first boat which arrived even if it went to the Contemporary as we enjoyed the walk from the Contemporary to MK and the shorter/non-existent bag queue.

On a separate note we also found that the bag queues were so much better and quicker than they were for our last visit at all parks which was great.

The OP didn't mention about doing the Wilderness lodge tour - we did it and really enjoyed it. Very informative with a mini history lesson thrown in.

[WDWfangirl]

Originally Posted by Claudette

We don’t do Uber and I really don’t want to spend money every day on taxis, so the comments on transport are very concerning.

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Maybe we were lucky but really don't let the comments about transport put you off. The bus times feature on MDE was very useful. I'd check it as we left the room and could decide whether or not we had time to stop off and fill our drinks or not. There was only one occasion when the bus drove off as we arrived at the stop and that was when we hadn't checked the app before hand and were just strolling to the bus stop.

And Uber was great to use - loads of people use it out there and it was really easy to do and so cheap. coming back from the Poly we could have gone via the monorail and boat but why waste potentially an hour doing so? I think the longest we had to wait for an uber was 5 minutes. And we did it all using the Disney free wi fi so no issues on that front.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Bestbubba

Claudette do you have any specific reason for not using Uber? I only ask because we had never used them until a Disney holiday a couple of years ago. We're now Uber converts! Downloaded the app and it was really easy. We've met some lovely drivers, a lot of lady drivers in Orlando, apparently it fits in with the school run! We also met a charming young man in New Orleans who was overjoyed to learn we were Tottenham Hotspur supporters and knew more than we did about them!

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Well when they first took off, I did not agree because where I lived, in Australia, the drivers were uninsurable, I worked in a senior position for the largest insurer in Australia (40% market share) so this was a fact not hearsay. But people did not seem to realise it, put me off. I believe the situation is now changed there.

More recently I am not sure I like the gig economy ethically, I had to write a paper on it for my masters in employment law last year and there are issues. I don’t want to start a debate on it on the dibb though, just answering your question. Obviously my paper covered the other side of the gig economy arguments and I have wondered if we should give Uber a go and mentioned it to DH. But he is still against it, for him he is not satisfied with the safety standards. So no Uber for us. I did get him to order Uber eats six months ago though.

[Bestbubba]

Originally Posted by Claudette

Well when they first took off, I did not agree because where I lived, in Australia, the drivers were uninsurable, I worked in a senior position for the largest insurer in Australia (40% market share) so this was a fact not hearsay. But people did not seem to realise it, put me off. I believe the situation is now changed there.

More recently I am not sure I like the gig economy ethically, I had to write a paper on it for my masters in employment law last year and there are issues. I don’t want to start a debate on it on the dibb though, just answering your question. Obviously my paper covered the other side of the gig economy arguments and I have wondered if we should give Uber a go and mentioned it to DH. But he is still against it, for him he is not satisfied with the safety standards. So no Uber for us. I did get him to order Uber eats six months ago though.

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Claudette, those are very valid points and you've raised interesting issues I have no knowledge of, if I'm honest. Luckily it sounds like the bus situation is good, especially if you utilise the app. Have a wonderful holiday 😃

[Guest]

Originally Posted by lexie32

I wouldn’t worry about the transport too much, I guess we have been split by staying at the Y&B club for our last few visits and my husband does not do busses! We used UberXL and the most expensive one was $9 which when you are using 1per day is nothing when the holiday costs 10K

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The transport has been appalling, a complete joke, I have never experienced anything like it at Disney before.

Over the last few days we have had to get taxis back from Epcot, Hollywood Studios and yesterday Disney Springs, after spending forty minutes waiting in vain for a bus at each. It has cost a lot more than $9 per trip, but we begrudge it anyway as we see transport as being part of the deal we have already paid for.

The transport was generally ok leaving the resort and we really didn’t mind stopping off at Contemporary or Fort Wilderness first, however when we were going to HS at 10am two days ago we waited 35 minutes with no sign of a bus (nothing on the board). We were walking up to reception to get a taxi when finally we saw a time come up. We have had two late nights in MK, for the Halloween part and after dark, didn’t stay until the end of either but waited fifty minutes and thirty minutes for the bus.

Today was the last straw and we had to ask to be moved because the transport situation is ruining the holiday for us. We are checking out in the morning, six days early, hopefully things will get better at the new hotel.

Wilderness Lodge is easily the worst Disney hotel we have ever stayed in.

[BevS97]

I’m really sorry to hear that. We really enjoyed our stay there and used the boat to magic kingdom often.

Which hotel are you moving too?